A Study of the Bronze of Mary on the Façade of Macao’s Church of Saint Paul

Abstract

The center of the third storey of the façade of Macao’s Church of Saint Paul is the niche of the Virgin Mary, the mother of God as well as the patron of the church. The bronze statue enshrined in the niche is widely believed to be the image of the Assumption of Our Lady, because the church was originally built for the Assumption of Mary, and the main altar corresponding to the surviving frontispiece or façade of the church is also decorated with a work by the Jesuit painter Giacomo Niva, namely <em>The Assumption of Our Blessed Lady</em>. This article investigates this image of the Virgin Mary from the perspective of literature research and iconology and believes that it actually depicts the Virgin’s Conception, because the posture and demeanor of Mary are in line with the description in the “Revelation” Chapter from the <em>Holy Bible</em>. Besides, most of the contemporaneous images of Our Lady’s ascent and conception also supports the scene of this statue. But it neither contradicts the original design concept of the church, that is, celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin nor being inconsistent with the main altar decoration. On the contrary, the church creates and commemorates this Host who connects the earthly world and the celestial world with different motifs of Madre de Deus to enlighten the world.